David speaks with journalist David Hoffman about his article “Saving the World at Plutonium Mountain.” The origins of this article can be traced back to the end of the Cold War and Russia’s disposal of their cache of plutonium, a main ingredient in the construction of a nuclear bomb. As it turns out, this material has simply dumped into a mountain in Kazakhstan where it stayed for 10 years before some scavengers found the plutonium in plain view. Along with Russian and American scientists, Kazakhstan spent the next 15 years disposing of this highly hazardous material.

Original Air Date: 8-27-2013

Part 1

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.